As long lines began forming around the country to take part in Black Friday sales, residents of Queens flocked to area malls to get the best deals.

Queens resident Elisha Austin went to the Rego Park Center at 3 a.m. Friday morning, where many of the stores opened their doors right at the stroke of midnight.

Austin then continued her shopping spree at Queens Center Mall. After over seven hours of waiting in line and fighting for bargains, she was relaxing at a table with her shopping bags and sleeping daughters.

With twins she said that the half-price Black Friday deals are big for her because she already has to buy two of everything.

“It was busy,” she said. “But it works for me.”

As Black Friday continued, lines at Queens Center Mall were still the norm in the afternoon. Employees stopped handing out catalogues with coupons in them because they were needed to assist shoppers in the stores.

By late morning, the only parking available was on the roof, with every other deck paced to capacity.

A seasonal worker, Abraham, who was hired by a store in Queens Center Mall, said that he enjoyed the Black Friday experience because he likes helping people.

“Black Friday is rough, but I’ll get through it,” he said.

Abraham said that he reported to work at 8 a.m. and the store was already packed with people and employees attempting to re-stock merchandise. As he was piling shirts into a display, they were being grabbed from his hands by shoppers.

Meanwhile, just a short distance away, the scene at The Shops at Atlas Park in Glendale was much more subdued. A security guard at Atlas Park said that with stores not opening until the customary hour of 10 a.m., “it didn’t even feel like Black Friday.”